Syrian forces accused of refugee camp attack

Amateur video posted online is claimed to show the Syrian army bombarding a Palestinian refugee camp in the port city of Latakia.

Alastair Good

8:15AM BST 16 Aug 2011

Thousands of people have fled the camp according to the United Nations.

A spokesman for The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that some had left on the orders of the Syrian authorities while some had fled gunfire.

Video posted on a social media website appeared to show troops and tanks on the ground firing on the al-Rami refugee camp, although this could not be independently verified.

Residents of Latakia said the camp had been targeted by Syrian security forces and UNRWA claimed between five and ten thousand people had fled with a handful of deaths reported.

The Palestinian presidential spokesman called on "the Syrian authorities to take measures which prevent the violation of the lives of Palestinian refugees in al-Raml camp in Latakia", the official WAFA news agency reported.